Art fraudster Inigo Philbrick is out of jail: what's the true story behind his $86m web of lies?
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The name Inigo Philbrick used to be known in the art world for all the right reasons – until the dealer mysteriously vanished in 2019, abandoning his work, life and clients, in both London and Miami. He left debts to the tune of $86 million (£68 million) behind, along with a web of lies that the American authorities had spent months unravelling.
At the time of his arrest, Inigo was shopping at a market with his partner, Made In Chelsea's Victoria Baker-Harber, who was pregnant with their daughter, Gaia (now three).
But what's the full story behind 'art fraudster' Inigo Philbrick, who the FBI has labelled the biggest art scammer in history? And where are he and his wife, Victoria Barker-Harber now?
Who is Inigo Philbrick?
London-born, Connecticut-raised, Inigo had his foot in the door of the art world from day one: his father, Harry Philbrick, also built a career in the arts, at one point working as the director of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
As well as being connected to the art world via his father, Inigo's maternal grandfather was also a shoe-in, having founded the company behind the gold Oscar statue. To say Inigo had a privileged life and upbringing would be entirely fair, yet he still found himself in financial hot water as his career developed, and the art world's murky underbelly was the perfect place for him to run riot.
2006
Inigo began his art career in 2006, via an internship at Jay Jopling's White Cube gallery (which helped launch the likes of Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst), and quickly progressed there. Life seemed good: his wardrobe was packed with designer suits, he travelled the world first-class (regularly skiing in the Alps and partying in Ibiza) and could fund his penchant for expensive wines.
2012
In 2012, he began building his own business and took on Robert Newland as a financial advisor, and this, in Philbrick's opinion, is where things started to go wrong. (This year, Newland was sentenced to one year and eight months after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.)
2016
Inigo met his now-wife, Victoria Barker-Harber, in 2016, on a yacht trip – the pair had mutual friends – and ended his relationship with Francisca Mancini, with whom he shares another daughter (they are not in touch). It was in this same year that things seemed to take a turn for the worse for Inigo: it would later transpire that he'd routinely committed fraud between 2016 and 2019, by selling shares in pieces of art to multiple people, meaning the total sold shares amounted to more than 100%.
Not only that, but during this period Inigo also sold artworks (or used them as collateral when seeking loans) without informing the owners, and forged documents to bump up the value of the art he was dealing. He even invented an investor at one point, to buy himself more time to clear a debt with the White Cube's founder, Jay Jopling.
The Art Newspaper reports, "In 2017, [Philbrick's] gallery reported a $130m turnover. However, by 2019 Philbrick’s reputation had begun to sour, and his business suffered when the market for some of his preferred artists began to cool. To keep up appearances and maintain his lifestyle, the art dealer misrepresented the ownership of certain works for his benefit, sold shares of works to multiple investors for totals that exceeded 100%, used some of those works to secure loans for himself and forged consignment documents."
2019
When his lies began to unravel, Inigo went on the run in October 2019; it took around eight months for the authorities to track him down.
Jay Jopling, who was one of at least 20 conned by Inigo, said in 2022: "It has hurt and saddened me that Mr Philbrick, whom I respected and whose early career I supported, has not only betrayed my trust but … that of many others."
Inigo's former best friend and one-time business parter, Orlando Whitfield, recently told The Guardian, "The ethical soul of this country is so shattered that Inigo and his ilk are seen as merely naughty, rather than people who have ruined lives."
What was Inigo Philbrick convicted of?
It's thought Inigo's crimes span 2016 to 2019 and an arrest warrant was issued for Inigo on 11 June 2020, he was found by US law enforcement agents on a remote tropical island, Vanuatu (he denies being on the run though, pointing out that he travelled using his real name and passport).
Four days later, Inigo appeared in court through a video link to hear his charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft read.
He was then sent back to the United States and held in custody for close to 18 months.
On 18 November 2021, Inigo Philbrick pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The following spring (23 May 2022), he was sentenced by a judge to serve 84 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release and was told to pay $86m in fraud restitution.
Inigo was released from prison early on 10 February 2024 and reunited with Victoria and Gaia.
Where is Inigo Philbrick now?
Now, according to a new profile interview with The Times, in which Inigo, 36, explains he doesn't feel guilty for his crimes, he is living with his long-term partner, Victoria Baker-Harber, and their daughter Gaia, somewhere in New England (an area of America consisting of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island).
His exact whereabouts, the journalist explains, has been kept deliberately vague, and he still has to wear an ankle monitor.
When reflecting on his crimes, Inigo says, "I think greed is a natural human state. I’d feel a lot more guilt if I had been drink-driving or if I’d been selling drugs and someone had died." He also adds that nobody involved (his victims) "missed a meal" or couldn't "send their children to university... I don’t think that anyone in this whole story is guilty of much more than greed and ambition".
As for repaying the debt of $86 million, Inigo has been told he must pay 15% of his total monthly income to the government once he's been given the go ahead to return to work.
He has public social media accounts and over on Instagram, has been joking about his latest 'fashion accessory': an electronic tag.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Inigo also laid out his plans for a comeback in the art world, "I'm 36, still a young man, and a second act is going to require my having been upfront and sincere, but also not a martyr... I did things the wrong way. But creatively and with the best of intentions. I'll have to tick the box for the felony. But I believe the art world is sophisticated enough to understand I wasn’t Bernie Madoff (who never made an actual investment)."
Who is Inigo Philbrick's wife, Victoria Baker-Harber?
Known in her own right for appearing on Made In Chelsea (which Victoria told The Times was part acting: "You have to play up to being a sassy bitch or whatever"), Inigo Philbrick's wife has been with him for around 8 years now. The daughter of an Olympian-turned-lawyer and an interior designer, she counts Trump's daughter, Tiffany, as a friend.
The pair met in 2016 on a friend's yacht, and now share a three-year-old daughter, Gaia. In a recent interview with the couple, it's noted that their wedding came about partially so that Victoria (who is part-British, part-Australian) could obtain the necessary VISA to stay living in America.
She is active on Instagram, via the handle @victoriabh, where she regularly posts photos of herself and her daughter, her luxurious trips overseas and outfits. It's understood that her family's wealth is currently seeing her and Inigo through on the financial front.
Captioning a photo of herself, Inigo and Gaia following his release from prison, Victoria quipped: "A long stretch, but here we are!"
Over on X (formerly known as Twitter), Victoria shared that she's always dreamt of being on Big Brother one day – so it seems the couple certainly won't be shying away from the limelight now that Inigo has served his time. A BBC series involving the couple is also in the works.
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